Bangladesh

Lord Carlile of Berriew: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy concerning economic and other support for the government of Bangladesh following the recent electoral process there; and whether United Kingdom Government officials will attend future government ceremonial occasions in that country.

Baroness Northover: We are watching events carefully in Bangladesh following the recent elections. We have no intention of rushing into any decisions and have not cancelled any existing programmes.
	UK aid supports the poorest and most vulnerable people in Bangladesh; we will not make changes to our programmes that would penalise the poor.
	Decisions to attend future ceremonial occasions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Bangladesh

Lord Carlile of Berriew: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they gave to the presence of the Senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State in an official delegation to Bangladesh in December 2013 at a time when Abdul Qader Mollah was being executed in that country; and why they concluded that she should be present.

Baroness Warsi: My visit to Bangladesh was timed to take place prior to the general election. This was a follow up to my earlier visit in February 2013. The purpose of visiting Dhaka was to discuss bilateral relations and the upcoming general election. During this visit I held face-to-face meetings with the political leadership, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia as well as the Election Commission. I raised serious and urgent concerns about the lack of political consensus over the electoral arrangements, and encouraged dialogue between the two main parties. This visit, originally planned for November but postponed on security grounds, took place on 12 December. The election took place on 5 January 2014.

Central African Republic

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance they have provided to develop the African Union's peacekeeping capacity in the current and the last three financial years; and what further assistance they plan to provide in the light of recent events in the Central African Republic.

Baroness Warsi: Strengthening the African Union’s capability to prevent, resolve and reconcile conflict on the continent remains at the forefront of the tri-departmental Africa Conflict Pool’s priorities. It has contributed almost £65 million to improving Africa’s peacekeeping capacity over the period in question including financial support to the African Union’s Peace and Security Department and the provision of training to troop contribution countries and directly to African Union Peace Support Missions. Government funding has helped the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to deliver a robust response to the threat of Al Shabaab in Somalia and to the African Union’s reaction to the insurgency in Mali.
	We are currently in discussions with the African Union as to what support we can provide in response to recent events within the Central African Republic.

Charities: Religious Charities

Baroness Berridge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many churches were given charitable status in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many churches were refused charitable status on the grounds of lack of public benefit in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Christian charities were granted charitable status in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Commission's chief executive to reply.
	Letter from Sam Younger BCE, Chief Executive, Charity Commission, to Baroness Berridge, dated 24 January 2014.
	I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions on how many churches were given charitable status [HL4789], how many churches were refused charitable status on the grounds of lack of public benefit [HL4790] and how many Christian charities were granted charitable status [HL4791] in the years 2012 and 2013 respectively.
	Our records indicate that 446 and 395 churches were registered in 2012 and 2013 respectively. No churches were refused charitable status on the grounds of lack of public benefit in either of these years.
	A further 461 charities which clearly identify themselves as Christian in their objects successfully applied for charitable status in 2012, along with a further 303 charities in 2013.
	These figures are estimates based on a search of entries on the register of charities using the information charities provide to us. It is not always possible to identify from the details a charity has given for its register entry whether or not it operates a church or
	other place of worship. In addition, new charities may not currently operate a church or place of worship but may plan to do so in the future.
	There may also be additional Christian charities which do not show as such from their entries on the register because they have not self-identified as Christian or having purposes to advance the Christian religion.

Education: Personal, Social and Health Education

Baroness Browning: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the school education system promotes the need for consent in a relationship.

Lord Nash: The statutory guidance for schools makes clear that children should learn about the importance of consent in relationships. Teachers can access high-quality resources on these topics, and the Department for Education is funding the PSHE Association to develop specific guidance to help schools teach about consent. The Association has published a draft of the guidance and is currently reviewing feedback and comments.

Flooding

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent in each of the last ten years on flood alleviation and prevention works in the Somerset Levels; and how much will be spent in the next full year.

Lord De Mauley: A detailed annual breakdown is not currently available. However, the Environment Agency estimates that it has spent approximately £2 million per year for each of the last ten years on incident response, operational and maintenance activities on the Somerset Levels. Additionally the Environment Agency has spent approximately £18 million on asset improvement project work in the last ten years.
	In the next full year the Environment Agency expects to spend approximately £2 million on flood alleviation and prevention works in the Somerset Levels.

Government Departments: Administrative Costs and Salaries

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the administrative costs, including salaries, of the private offices of each Minister in the Department for International Development for the last year for which figures are available.

Baroness Northover: Across the private offices of the Secretary of State, Minister of State and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State there are the following officials employed as at 23rd January 2014:
	
		
			  Number 
			 SCSI 1 
			 Band A 4 
			 Band B 11 
			 Band C 2 
			 Total 18 
		
	
	Departmental costs are published each year in the Annual Report and Accounts.

Government Departments: Administrative Costs and Salaries

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the administrative costs, including salaries, of the private offices of each Minister in the Ministry of Justice for the last year for which figures are available.

Lord Faulks: The budget for Private Office is not apportioned per minister. The outturn figure from the 2012-13 audited accounts is the last full year for which figures are available and is inclusive of administrative costs and salaries. In 2012-13 the total cost of Private offices within the Ministry of Justice was £2.566m. This compares to £3.74m in the final year of the previous government.

Government Departments: Administrative Costs and Salaries

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the administrative costs, including salaries, of the private offices of each Minister in HM Treasury for the last year for which figures are available.

Lord Deighton: The administration costs including salaries of private offices for each Minister within the department totalled £2,457,907 during the financial year 2012/13. This compares to a figure of £3,080,162 in financial year 09/10 and £2,869,500 in 08/09 for Ministers in the department in those years.

Government Departments: Management Information Reports

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 17 December 2013 relating to the Home Office (WA 181), whether any performance data are collated on a daily or weekly basis for Ministers or the Permanent Secretary; and, if so, what.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Ministers attend the Home Office Supervisory Board, chaired by the Home Secretary, which includes the Permanent Secretary,
	senior officials and a number of Non-Executive Directors. It oversees the department's performance and delivery, providing strategic leadership to the department.
	This is supported by Executive Management Board, which oversees the day-to-day running of the department and provides corporate strategic leadership. This meets on a weekly basis to review a range of operational, policy and corporate services issues, including the latest performance data. The board is chaired by the Permanent Secretary and consists of senior Home Office officials and one non-executive member.

Government Departments: Research and Development

Lord Adonis: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Department for Health spent in total in (1) 2010–11, (2) 2011–12, (3) 2012–13, and (4) 2013–14; how much the Department spent on research and development in each of those years; and how much the Department spent on the Small Business Research Initiative in each of those years.

Earl Howe: The following tables show how much the Department has spent in total; how much the Department spent on research and development; and how much the Department spent on the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI).
	
		
			 Financial year Total Departmental Spend (£)* 
			 2010-11 102.6 billion 
			 2011-12 105.3 billion 
			 2012-13 110 billion 
			 2013-14 Not yet available 
		
	
	Source
	: Departmental Annual Report and Accounts
	
		
			 Financial year Research and development£ millions 
			 2010-11 Revenue 876, Capital 1 
			 2011-12 Revenue 880, Capital 31 
			 2012-13 Revenue 911, Capital 58 
			 2013-14 Revenue 1017, Capital 136 
		
	
	
		
			 Financial year SBRI £ millions 
			 2010-11 1.46 
			 2011-12 1.52 
			 2012-13 4.57 
			 2013-14 3.50 
		
	
	Notes
	:
	The figures for 2013-14 represent the full year forecast spend.

Government Departments: Research and Development

Lord Adonis: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many competitions the Home Office held for the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) in (1) 2010–11, (2) 2011–12, (3) 2012–13, and (4) 2013–14; how many Phase 2 SBRI projects the department funded in
	each of those years; and how many of the department’s SBRI-funded projects led to procurement contracts in each of those years.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The number of Phase two SBRI projects funded in each year is shown in the table.
	There have been no procurement contracts resulting from phase two SBRI projects funded in the period 2010-11 to 2013-14, because work following the development stage of funded projects is still ongoing.
	Table details of Phase two SBRI projects funded by the Home Office
	
		
			 Year Number of phase two projects funded 
			 2010/11 0 
			 2011/12 1 
			 2012/13 2(1) 
			 2013/14 None to date 
		
	
	(1)
	One project was funded in two separate years and is shown in both 2011/12 and 2012/13

Health: Cardiology

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of heart-related deaths in the United Kingdom in 2013.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, Director General for ONS, to Lord Taylor of Warwick, dated January 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what assessment has been made of the number of heart-related deaths in the United Kingdom in 2013. [HL4922]
	There were 161,252 deaths with an underlying cause of circulatory disease in the United Kingdom registered in 2012 (the latest year available).
	A National Statistics definition of heart-related deaths does not exist, therefore figures have been provided for all deaths with an underlying cause of any circulatory disease (International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision codes 100-199).
	Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are published by National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency respectively.
	The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age and underlying cause, are published annually on the ONS website at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-27475
	Figures for deaths registered in 2013 will be available by Autumn 2014.

Higher Education: Funding

Lord Stevenson of Balmacara: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the student opportunity allocation fund; and what are the proposed allocations from the student opportunity allocation fund in each of the academic years 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We will announce the overall funding available to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in the normal way through the grant letter. It will then be up to HEFCE to decide how the funding is distributed to HE Institutions. Like all areas of government spending, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills needs to live within its resources and is facing some pressures. We are aiming to resolve these in ways that are consistent with the government’s priorities.

Higher Education: Medical Insurance

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered requiring universities to include the provision of medical insurance as part of degree offers made to students from outside the European Economic Area, without an increase in tuition fees.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Immigration Bill which is currently going through Parliament makes provision for an annual Levy for Tier 4 (student) visa holders to cover access to the National Health Service.
	There are no current proposals to make holding private medical insurance a condition of obtaining a Tier 4 visa although many International students do take out private medical insurance before arriving in the UK.

Immigration Bill

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement of the Secretary of State for the Home Department that the provisions of the Immigration Bill are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, what analysis they undertook with regard to the right to education as protected by Article 2 of Protocol 2 and the right to a fair trial as guaranteed by Article 6 of section 1.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The government has published a memorandum addressing issues arising under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in relation to the Immigration Bill. The memorandum has been published online:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/joint-committees/human-rights/Immigration_Bill_ECHR_memo.pdf
	The Joint Committee on Human Rights published its report on the Bill on 18 December 2013.
	The Bill does not have an impact on the right to education, and it has been established by case law that Article six of the ECHR does not apply to immigration decisions.

India

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their present advice to women tourists, including those travelling alone, concerning visits to India.

Baroness Warsi: The Foreign Travel Advice pages on the gov.uk website provide country-specific safety and security advice. Our current India travel advice, as of 21 January 2014, states the following advice to women travelling to India:
	“Women should use caution when travelling in India. Reported cases of sexual assault against women and young girls are increasing; recent sexual attacks against female visitors in tourist areas and cities show that foreign women are also at risk. British women have been the victims of sexual assault in Goa, Delhi, Bangalore and Rajasthan and women travellers often receive unwanted attention in the form of verbal and physical harassment by individuals or groups of men. Serious sexual attacks involving Polish, German and Danish women travellers have been reported so far in 2014. Women travellers should exercise caution when travelling in India even if they are travelling in a group.
	If you are a woman travelling in India you should respect local dress codes and customs and avoid isolated areas, including beaches, when alone at any time of day. See these travel tips for women travellers (https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/supporting-british-nationals-overseas/supporting-pages/advice-for-women-travellers).
	Avoid travelling alone on public transport, or in taxis or auto-rickshaws, especially at night. If you have to use a taxi get them from hotel taxi ranks and use pre-paid taxis at airports. Try to avoid hailing taxis on the street. If you’re being collected at the airport by a hotel driver make sure they have properly identified themselves before you set off. If you are the victim of abuse call 100 for police assistance (112 from mobile phones).
	If you are the victim of a sex crime see Rape and Sexual Assault Abroad (https://www.gov.uk/government /publications/rape-and-sexual-assault-abroad)”
	Full text of our Travel Advice for India is available at https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/india.

Internet: Official Websites

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority into the activities of paylondoncongestion.co.uk, what action they plan to take in respect of such websites offering services which may be accessed directly from websites of public bodies.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Officials in the Government Digital Service (GDS) are leading a cross-government exercise to gather information about the operation of third-party websites offering services associated with official government services. Ministers are meeting with Google to discuss its enforcement of its own terms and conditions for advertising on its search results pages. We will also engage with other internet search engines with regards to the enforcement of their terms and conditions for sponsored advertisement products.
	Where Government has become aware of websites that make misleading claims in their advertising, it has brought these complaints to the attention of the Advertising Standards Authority. The Government has taken, and continues to take, direct action to prevent the misuse of government logos or any suggestion of affiliation with government by these websites.
	From 2014, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be taking over many of the functions and responsibilities of the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading. The CMA is an independent body.

Internet: Official Websites

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that citizens are not misled by websites masquerading as official websites providing public services such as driving documents, passports and European Health Insurance Cards.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had discussions with Google and other search engine providers about websites masquerading as official websites providing public services such as driving documents, passports and European Health Insurance Cards; and, if so, with what result.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to take any action to close websites masquerading as official websites providing public services such as driving documents, passports and European Health Insurance Cards.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Officials in the Government Digital Service (GDS) are leading a cross-government exercise to gather information about the operation of third-party websites offering services associated with official government services. Ministers are meeting with Google to discuss its enforcement of its own terms and conditions for advertising on its search results pages. We will also engage with other internet search engines with regards to the enforcement of their terms and conditions for sponsored advertisement products.
	Where Government has become aware of websites that make misleading claims in their advertising, it has brought these complaints to the attention of the Advertising Standards Authority. The Government has taken, and continues to take, direct action to prevent the misuse of government logos or any suggestion of affiliation with government by these websites.
	From 2014, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be taking over many of the functions and responsibilities of the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading. The CMA is an independent body.

Migrants: Benefits

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering preventing European Union migrants from claiming welfare payments for up to two years after arriving in Britain; and whether they have any plans to exempt such migrants from United Kingdom tax obligations in respect of the same period.

Lord Freud: The Jobseeker's Allowance (Habitual Residence) Amendment Regulations 2013 has been laid with a 3 months residence requirement to apply to an EU migrant claiming income-based JSA. It is legitimate for the UK to pay income-based JSA only if there is a genuine link between the jobseeker and the labour market, and that the person has, for a reasonable period, genuinely sought work. A three month period is an appropriate and proportionate period of time to establish that link.

NHS: Clinical Commissioning Groups

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what increases or reductions in funding have been prescribed for 2014–15 for each Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in the North East of England, and in each case, in which local authority the CCG is based.

Earl Howe: The information requested is given in the following table.
	
		
			 2014-15 clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocation Programme Budget Allocation (£000) Total growth on prior year Local authority area 1 
			 NHS Darlington CCG 133,478 2.14% Darlington 
			 NHS Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield CCG 405,554 2.14% County Durham 
			 NHS North Durham CCG 312,966 2.14% County Durham 
			 NHS Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees CCG 365,657 2.14% Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees 
			 NHS South Tees CCG 385,005 2.14% Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland 
			 NHS Gateshead CCG 286,890 2.14% Gateshead 
		
	
	
		
			 NHS Newcastle North and East CCG 173,776 2.14% Newcastle upon Tyne 
			 NHS Newcastle West CCG 183,297 2.14% Newcastle upon Tyne 
			 NHS Northumberland CCG 418,508 2.14% Northumberland 
			 NHS South Tyneside CCG 227,683 2.14% South Tyneside 
			 NHS Sunderland CCG 417,232 2.14% Sunderland 
			 NHS North Tyneside CCG 287,531 2.14% North Tyneside 
		
	
	Notes
	:
	1
	The local authority is based on the geographical responsibilities of CCGs. However, CCGs may have registered patients resident in other local authorities.

Nigeria

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that homosexuals in Nigeria have been tortured by the authorities to obtain the names of other homosexuals following the enactment of laws criminalising homosexuality in that country.

Baroness Warsi: We are aware of reports that, following the Presidential assent of the Same Sex Marriage Bill on 7 January 2014, a number of men were arrested in Nigeria, having been accused of homosexual activity. We are seeking further detail from the Nigerian authorities.
	The UK opposes the criminalisation of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community and opposes any discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. We believe the Same Sex Marriage Bill in Nigeria, which received the President's assent on 7 January, infringes on the human rights of the Nigerian LGBT community and on the rights of expression and association which are guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and by Nigeria’s international treaty obligations. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), made a statement on 15 January which highlighted our concerns, and the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Jeremy Wright) raised this issue with Nigerian Ministers when he visited earlier this month.

Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of deaths in Yarmouk camp in Damascus from malnutrition and lack of medical care; and what plans they have to aid the safe passage of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East humanitarian convoys trying to reach the camp.

Baroness Northover: DFID is deeply concerned about the situation in Yarmouk, including the recent reports of deaths due to malnutrition and lack of medical care. While the reports are credible, they remain unverified in the absence of access to the camp. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency were able to deliver 200 food baskets on Saturday 18 January. We continue to press for unfettered humanitarian access to the whole of Syria, including besieged areas.

Schools: Standards

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to help raise the academic standards of schools which have been failing.

Lord Nash: We take steps for the poorest performing schools, including those judged by Ofsted to be inadequate, to become sponsored academies, with a high quality sponsor who can turn performance around rapidly. In recent years, the results of sponsored academies have gone up faster than other state-funded schools, turning around some of our worst schools.
	Ofsted has implemented a more rigorous inspection framework, with performance data forming part of information to target inspections on the weakest schools.
	Statutory guidance to local authorities makes very clear our expectations that local authorities should take swift and robust action when maintained schools are not good enough. This includes our expectation that poorly performing schools should be matched with a strong sponsor. Local authorities should consider imposing Interim Executive Boards to replace failing governing bodies and issuing Warning Notices to set out the action required to improve standards. The guidance can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/statutory/g00192418/scc

Shipbuilding

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Security Council has discussed the grand strategic imperative for, and scale of, sovereign warship building capacity in the United Kingdom.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: It is long-standing convention that the Government does not comment on discussions at Cabinet Committees, such as the National Security Council, as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

South Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the situation facing South Sudanese refugees in Malakal; what information they have regarding the death by drowning in the White Nile of refugees; and what progress is being made in talks aimed at ending hostilities.

Baroness Warsi: We were deeply saddened to hear of the tragic ferry sinking in South Sudan in which many people fleeing the fighting were killed. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), made a statement expressing his regret at the incident.
	The latest figures show that nearly half a million people have now been internally displaced with nearly 90,000 having fled to neighbouring countries. In Malakal, over 22,000 people are sheltering in the UN base. Ongoing fighting is continuing to hamper humanitarian access and we are urging all parties to ensure the safety of civilians and respect for UN premises.
	While progress has been made towards agreeing the text of a cessation of hostilities document, the document has yet to be signed. We are continuing to lend our full support to the talks being mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and pressing for a full cessation of hostilities.

South Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Warsi on 7 January (HL Deb, cols 1396–7), regarding the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), whether the UNMISS mandate is sufficient to protect civilians; and whether the mandate recently given to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and used against the M23 militia might be an appropriate model for UNMISS.

Baroness Warsi: The United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) is mandated under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to use all necessary means required to protect civilians. We believe the mandate is sufficient in this respect.

South Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision has been made for radio broadcasts by the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan to civilian populations in South Sudan giving them
	and non-governmental organisations accurate news and appropriate warnings about military activity in their areas.

Baroness Warsi: The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) works with a number of international and national organisations on conflict early warning in South Sudan. To the best of our knowledge, UNMISS does not directly disseminate information on early warning to the population. However, the independent radio station Radio Miraya broadcasts information regarding the security situation in South Sudan. Radio Miraya is supported by UNMISS in partnership with Foundation Hirondelle.

Syria

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the context of the Geneva II Conference, they will seek the release from prison of the Syrian Kurdish delegates, Mr Abdul Aziz Al-Khayeer and Mr Rajaa Al-Nasser.

Baroness Warsi: The UK condemns the widespread illegal detention of civilians by the Syrian regime and has consistently called for their release. We will continue to call for Assad to release all illegally held individuals throughout the Geneva II process.
	We are pleased that the Kurdish National Council (KNC) has joined the Syrian National Coalition. Dr Bashar of the KNC has recently been elected as a National Coalition Vice-President, which will ensure that Kurdish voices are heard in the opposition delegation at Geneva II. We encourage all Kurdish groups to come together to support the National Coalition and the Geneva II process to find a political solution to the crisis.

Thailand

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations have been made to the government of Thailand regarding reports of a recent attempt by Thai police to persuade British citizen Andy Hall to sign a false confession.

Baroness Warsi: Officials at our Embassy in Bangkok, and in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, are fully aware of Mr Hall’s case and have been in regular contact with him since March 2013.
	During his visit to Thailand in May 2013, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Right Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire),
	raised the case against Mr Hall with Thailand’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Jullapong Nonsrichai. Embassy staff have also raised the importance of Mr Hall receiving an independent trial with officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
	Following reports from Mr. Hall of the Thai police attempting to coerce him into the signing of a document of confession, our Ambassador to Thailand wrote to the Thai Ministry for Foreign Affairs expressing an interest in the case and raising concerns around the application of due process.

Turkey

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when, in relation to the candidacy of Turkey for potential membership of the European Union, they, rather than the European Union as a body, last made an assessment of the state of democracy in that country; and whether they will place a copy of any such assessment in the Library of the House.

Baroness Warsi: Turkey is a democracy with multi-party elections whose government has been democratically elected. The UK is clear that the EU Accession process remains the most effective mechanism for continuing reform in Turkey and we remain fully committed to, and supportive of, that process. The Turkey of today is radically transformed from the country that applied to join the EU a quarter of a century ago.
	The accession process has played a powerful role in supporting Turkey's reforms and the EU Commission’s 2013 Annual Progress Report, offers a detailed assessment on Turkey’s progress against the criteria for EU membership, including democracy and rule of law. The Annual Progress Report is a public document, and the EU’s assessment was also reflected most recently in the December 2013 European Council Conclusions, to which we contributed and which were agreed by consensus. Turkey was also referenced in the latest Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights and Democracy Report, a copy of which was presented to Parliament in April 2013.